Delta Knights
by DELEON25
Summary: A case of missing children leads to an adventure in the most unusual way possible. Join Jake, Chance, Feral, Felina, Steele, and many more surprising party members in the case to save the missing children and to find their freedom.
1. Sign in

**I do not own anything of the SWAT Kats. They are currently under the control of Warner Brothers. So, let's get on with the story.**

Sign in – Notification

"Reports on the missing citizens have yet to be updated. For all we know about a dozen, possibly more, have reported to Enforcers of their missing family members. According to the current statues, those who were with or knew the missing kats said something about 'being chosen'. Investigation on what that phrase could possibly mean is underway. It's a sad and tragic time for those families. This is Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News."

"Trying to find these kits for the past week is really taking its toll, sir." Lt. Commander Steele said while turning off the screen in the Commander's office.

"Not to mention that the families had no idea of their children's, even spouses, whereabouts before their disappearance." Lt. Felina Feral added.

"It's bad enough that the SWAT Kats have no clues in the disappearances." Steele huffed. "Matter of fact, those two vigilantes haven't been around lately."

"I understand that many teenagers have been taken, but we cannot depend on those hotshots." Commander Feral roughly said. "Beside, whoever is behind this really knows what they're doing. Taking citizens and leaving no trace; this is one well thought out kidnapping."

"What if Dark Kat is pulling the strings?" Felina accused. "He could be using the kidnapped citizens as slaves or use them for ransom."

"If he was going to ask for money, wouldn't he have done that by now?" Steele asked with a bit of sarcasm. "Besides, Dark Kat hasn't attacked in over a month."

"It's been a month since he last attacked?" Feral asked astonishingly. He didn't realize it had been that long. The huge space of peace can only mean that any of the Omegas are preparing to strike at any time of the day or the next and so on. Steele nodded.

"Yeah, but…I guess that could cause for some suspicion."

"It couldn't have been Dr. Viper. This isn't his style; unless the kidnapped citizens are a part of his experiments." Felina continued to add on to the list of suspects. "He could have lured the citizens somehow. Maybe he created a chemical that can attract certain kats."

"Somehow, that doesn't seem very likely." Commander Feral sighed at his niece's imagination. This whole new crisis was causing him to have headaches. "Lt. Felina Feral; Lt. Commander Steele; this crisis is already know to the public. If you happen to find any clues or leads, run it by me first. But most importantly," Commander Feral paused and took a deep breath then slowly released. "Don't say anything to the media. We don't need to cause uproar in panic."

"Sir!" Both salute and were given their leave. Commander Feral leaned on his chair to concentrate. Lately, Steele had gotten more serious. It seemed the personal training Steele had done was really paying off. The big tom was proud to almost say that Steele will be an excellent successor. But, Felina surprised him in many ways. Felina took her cases serious and always did things her way. Feral kept telling her to say in safe distance and not to do anything reckless but, as a Feral, she can be quite stubborn.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"More paperwork Mary?"

"No, these are from your personal mailbox. I was told to give them to you before you forget," She plopped the mail and all slid off from their positioned stack, "again." Feral groaned at his mail. He rummaged through them and it's the usual Congrats and Thank You letters from citizens and fellow officers from and away Megakat City. Then, one letter stuck out from the rest. It was blue and had a shied deign on the front. Swords cross behind said shield with a banner just below it. On the banner it read, "Join the Delta Knights".

"What is this?"

It didn't take long for Felina and Steele to arrive back to Feral's office. Feral eyed the unopened letter on his desk as he thought of what this could be. Does it tie with the disappearances or not. All this waiting was taking too long and Felina spoke out.

"What is it Uncle?"

"This letter came to me from my mailbox here at HQ. I have suspicions that it ties with our current case." Feral said. Of course, he should open it, but was contemplating on to do so. This whole thing could be some kind of misleading clue to get them off track. That is, if they were on track to begin with.

"Well, just looking at it won't give us any answers sir. Why not just open it and see what it reads." Steele suggested. Feral knew that Steele was right. Just looking at it won't do any good. The big tom ripped the side of the letter and pulled out the matching colored paper. The same shield design was on top along with other crests.

The letter is as it reads:

_Congrats,_

_You have been chosen to partake in the upcoming event of a lifetime. Our company is proud to acknowledge you as a test runner for our coming to fruition video game. It's a world wide online game that will let you experience life in the medieval era._

_The reason for us to need test runners is to have last minute opinions on the game before we release it to general public. We want to know if this game is right as it is or if there is a problem with the game, the controls, the battle system, etc. If you find any problems with the avatar, let us know. It's important that the avatar is in working condition._

_Thanks for taking your time to read our letter and will be looking forward to your help on our conquest._

_Sincerely,_

_Game Master President, DW_

"A video game…?" Steele practically chuckled at the worry this letter brought them. He stopped when he saw that Feral and Felina didn't find it as funny as him. "Oh come on, this letter gave us a good scare and it's completely irrelevant to the case. If I were you, I'd put this out of mind."

"Of course you would." Felina retorted. "This letter does involve our case. Didn't you read the first sentence? It states that Uncle has been chosen. Don't you remember what Ann Gora said? The kats that knew the missing kits said something about being chosen as well. This is the very lead we have been looking for. But, something is troubling me."

"What would that be?" Steele was starting to catch on to Felina was going at. "The last sentence; it states that it will be looking forward to our help on their conquest."

"That too; this is what troubles me." Felina pointed to the address. "It's just a couple blocks away from here. There is no way a video company would take place in the Red Light District."

"Then we need to investigate." Feral pulled out his radio and called for a dispatch to the address. Once the order was out, Feral ordered his Steele and Felina to get ready to leave. He was having his doubts on the lead, but what other clue did they have. Felina and Steele quietly whispered on the situation on the elevator ride and dispersed once the doors slid open to their appointed vehicles. Moving all sense of doubts to the back of his mind, the Commander turned on his sedan and made his way to the address that was enclosed in the letter.

Just as Felina suspected, the company was in the Red Light District. The place was awful and the she-kats in the corners walked away from the scene. Feral knew that this had to be the lead they had been looking for. The building was run down and condemned. Boards cover the windows, but the door was knocked open. Feral ordered to have the building surrounded to make sure no one escapes. Felina and Steele cover the Commander's back with ten other Enforcer officers. The Commander decided to take three officers with him to the forth, Felina with three officers to cover the third floor, and Steele with the rest to cover the first and second floor. All understood and make their way to their positions.

Steele ordered his officers to check all the rooms and to be careful. In his mind, he was trying to stay focused on doing this right. 'There is no way I'm going to mess up this time. I've trained hard and worked hard to prove the Commander my skills have gotten better.' The halls were getting darker when he went in deeper. He pulled out his flashlight and held it above this laser pistol. Everything seemed normal and there was no sound except for foots steps from upstairs and theirs. Steele's ears perk up when he heard the sound of something rolling on the ground. A spewing sound was the next thing he heard and his eyes widened in the dark. Something hit his paws and knocked both his flashlight and laser to the ground. What Steele guessed on what the sound could be was correct. It was a gas that knocked them to sleep.

Felina just made it to her floor. Just like Steele, she warned them to stay close. It was quiet; too quiet for her taste. Everything shouted 'something is wrong' at her in the eerie silence. There was no sign of movement or even the faintest squeak of a mouse. Felina felt a cold shiver down her spine and started to head back once she made it to the end of the hall when, all of a sudden, something hard hit her in the back of her head; knocking her out.

Feral didn't like this building one bit. There was nothing. No kat or even any sign that gave this place of it ever being a company. Whoever was behind this wanted it to be kept a secret. Or did they? With the notice of missing children and spouses, this company had the credibility of their work known to the public. Now the Commander got a dark thought. This was a trap. He was about to order his men to retreat and head out when he found them all knocked out cold. How did he not hear them as they were attacked? Then a sting on his neck made him wince. When he removed the small dart, his world started to haze and melt with the darkness. He could hear steps echo as he fell to his knees. The voice was muffled with whatever drugs that are knocking him out and was soon out like a light.

* * *

**For those who haven't caught on, Sign in is the prologue. You'll know what I mean in the next chapter. Please Review.**


	2. First Log in

First Log in – Waking up Anew

"Chance!" The tabby turned to the busy working tom by the desk. "I've called your name like six times! I know we're not getting much work today, but do you have to read those comics during the work shift?"

"I'm sorry." Chance blushed a bit from the embarrassment. "But, the story line was getting really good. I couldn't just sit around and wait for someone to call for a tow or for service." The tabby grumbled.

"Well, if you're feeling work deprived, go get the mail. Any bills we get are all yours." Jake scolds as he filled out a form for the car they finished a half hour ago. The truck wasn't in its best condition, but they managed to bring back that roar it had when it was first bought twenty years ago.

"Fine," Chance groaned while setting down his comic. Once outside, his eyes had to adjust to the change in brightness. The summer heat beat down, making him more uncomfortable as he already was with the temperature. He opened the old mailbox and pulled out several letters and ads. Chance looked through them; picking out his side of the work. He sighed in relief when he only got two bills to look through, but one letter got his attention and wanted to open it right away.

"Whatcha got there buddy?" Jake asked upon seeing the blue letter in the tabby's paws. The letter peaks his curiosity and put the pen in his paws down. It's not everyday one finds a blue letter in their mail in this city. Now standing behind his partner, he joined in silent read. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Alright!" Chance jumped with joy while grinning like a kitten in a candy store. "We have to go! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Imagine how much it will pay to try it out."

"No." Jake walked back to the desk and continued finishing the form. "We shouldn't waist our time on some new video game testing. Besides, I have important things to do in the hangar and the Turbokat needs to be inspected."

"Tch! When did you get boring?" Chance huffed as he began to work on the bills. A smirk grew on his face when the noticed the question got the lean tom's attention because he stopped writing. "Ever since Dark Kat attacked last month, you have been busy with work and upgrades. You need to relax. And this," Chance held up the letter, "this is our ticket."

"Our tickets to waist time on a worthless test run." Jake scoffed and continued to work. He got more annoyed by Chance's little whining and grumbling. The lean tom sighed heavily and groaned. "Fine! We'll go test this new game. If I don't like it, you'll be working your butt off with all the paper work. Understood…?"

"Loud and clear partner." Chance excitedly answered. His smile was so wide; Jake was starting to regret agreeing to go. In sometime later, they closed up the shop early after the customer came to pick up his truck. The old tom was so excited to have the truck rejuvenated, he paid both extra. A few minutes later, the tabby was heckling his friend to hurry up while heading to his truck; a nice black 2006 Ford truck that he loved so much, but not as much as the Turbokat. He made sure this truck was out of sight of his "favorite" pair of brothers, Burk and Murray.

"I'm coming! Don't get your tail in a knot!" Jake spat at his impatient friend. 'It's only 4:30pm and Chance acts like it's the world will end if we don't make it.' He thought. The tom continued to mentally complain of his friend's pushy nature. Once inside the truck, Chance immediately pulled out in reverse as Jake put on his belt.

The directions were legit. Chance knew exactly where to go since he has been to Game Master before. Five minutes into the ride, Jake couldn't help but feel that they were being followed. Something didn't feel right with the tom. He turned around to look back and not one vehicle was on their lane of direction. Yet, the paranoia of being stalked still lingered.

"Chance…"

"Oh come on Jake! Don't tell me you changed your mind?" The tabby was clearly agitated. Jake shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"I can't help but feel that we're being followed." The lean tom looked back and still nothing. This entire feeling was making his fur stand on end. Like always, he was going to keep his guard up until they reach Game Master.

"Like I said, you work too much." Chance snorted at his friend's behavior. "Playing this game will ease your mind; trust me." Jake still had a worried look, but Chance was right. He had been too busy and did need to make his mind relax and some mind numbing activity will do the trick. At least he'll be playing with Chance. If it goes well, he'll thank him for it.

All of a sudden, an Enforcer vehicle turned on their sirens and was right on Chance's tail. "Crud, what did I do wrong?" The tabby mentally cursed as he pulled over. Jake eyed the Enforcer stepping out of the vehicle from the rear view mirror. Something was off on how the Enforcer acted. He moved his gaze to the vehicle and saw that something was wrong with it too. But, he couldn't tell what the difference could be.

"Hello officer. Might I ask why you pulled me over?"

"You're tail light is busted and I'm writing you up."

Jake raised an eyebrow at the Enforcer. The tail light wasn't busted before they left. Chance wouldn't even let that happen and he would have noticed it before we left and if something hit it, he'd go nuts.

"What? There is no way!" Chance was about to open the door when the Enforcer placed a paw on the door.

"Don't exit the vehicle sir." The tone he used made them stagger. Chance didn't want to get another ticket for attacking an Enforcer, but it was going there. The tabby was furious that something hit his truck and not noticed it. All in all, this was strange on its own.

The Enforcer ripped the ticket and handed it over to the tabby. "Have a nice day." The malice in that voice made Jake think twice about the Enforcer. It was too late to ask him for proof of ID to claim he was an Enforcer as a spray hit them both from the tom's sleeve. It worked fast and Jake couldn't think straight. Everything went dark.

* * *

Jake's eyes opened and quickly shut them when a strong warm light made contact. He swore he heard chirping of birds and the sound of trees rustling to the wind. He quickly shot up and looked around to find himself in the middle of the woods. He rubbed his eyes with his paws to see if he was seeing things and then stopped rubbing when he noticed something was wrong with his face. Jake pulled back his paws…err…hands to see that he had no fur and five digits instead of four. Then he felt his face and felt no fur until he got to the full head of hair on his head. He panicked and stood up to see that his clothing is different too. He was wearing a tan leather skin opened shirt and matching baggy pants with a patch on the right knee. Jake felt exposed from his chest but could see that he was the same build as he if he was still a kat.

Jake started to look around again and spotted a lake just ahead. He ran to it so he could see his reflection. His eyes widen even more when he got a good look at himself. His ears were round at the tip and had a look that made him look, if it was someone else, attractive. His eyes were still green and still had cinnamon colored hair. He checked his teeth to see that most of them have gone flat except for the small canine teeth. His tongue has gotten a little fatter and it felt weird to move it around. Other than the huge changes, he was pretty much the same.

"Man," Jake sighed heavily and was relieved that he still spoke the same language. "I better find some place to chill or find someone to help me. These woods can't be that big." He started to make his way from the lake when a wolf appeared from the bushes. The gray furred creature snarled and baring its fangs at Jake. He stepped back as the wolf got closer. 'What do I do? I can't fight it without weapons. Duh, I'll fight it paw-to-paw…err…well, whatever!'

The wolf lunged at Jake and he managed to land a swift hard punch to the jaw. In his moment of triumph of landing a hit, he swore he saw a -5 appear. He returned his focus to the wolf that was getting up and shaking off the hit. It snarled again and this time dashed towards him. Jake tried to dodge but it clawed his left leg. Again, he swore he saw a number. While the wolf was in range, he kicked it hard and sent it over him making it crash to a tree. This time he caught the number -11. The wolf lie dead on the ground and Jake went to check to see if it really was dead. Just as he reached out to touch it, it turned to fragments of data and then into a small pouch with a gold coins in the bag and a small bow with and arrow.

[Victory; you earned 95 EXP. 143 Gold and obtained a Short Bow with an Onion Arrow]

"Did I just hear someone talk to me?" Jake frantically looked around for anybody nearby.

[Why yes. I'm Spirit; the guide for beginners.]

"Guide; for beginners; what the hell is going on?"

[Are you asking for the Primer? To access the Primer, just say "View Primer"]

"View Primer…?" The second Jake said that, a large window appeared before him with the basics of whatever it is he was in. He read through it and found out that he was IN the video game; in more specific location, the continent Aeos. He promised himself he would kill Chance the second he finds him. But if he did, Chance would loss a level and come back at Rebirth Point. Jake learned how to equip his bow and how to use Items. He even learned how to access his Status with just a simple command of "View". Then he found something that would benefit him. He found out how to PM with other players. He gave it a try.

"Yo Chance!" Jake called out. At first, he didn't get anything until he heard the familiar voice of his partner.

"_Jake, is that you? Where are you? I can't see you anywhere."_

"I'm using the games Personal Messaging System. Tell me where you are and I'll find you. But, you may want to describe how you look like now since…"

"_I know…wait, did you just say the 'games' Personal Messaging System?"_

"Yeah Chance, this whole mess is your fault!" Jake yelled his frustration to the tabby. "When I find you, I'm going to give you a new one!"

"_I'm sorry! This whole experience is getting really weird on me. To tell you the truth, I'm still the same build with less fur. I have on some skin leather clothing and carrying a sword. Also, there is small mountain range just up ahead of me."_

Jake thought for a moment and said, "View Map." The map showed his blimp marker in some area called the Everwoods. Just to the left are the mountain ranges Chance told he was seeing. To the North was a town and not far from his current location.

"Hey Chance, I want you to open your map. Just say 'View Map'."

"_Alright…?"_ Jake waited a bit until Chance spoke again._ "Whoa, how did you know that would happen? Spirit was giving me a tutorial and I guess I didn't ask too much for having a cocky attitude."_

"Okay…? Anyways, do you see the town up North? Let meet up at the gates of that town. Maybe there we can get some answers."

"_Sounds like a plan. I'll see ya there. Just don't die on me."_

'Hmph, like I'm going to die in this game. Whoever brought us here must have our bodies somewhere in Megakat City. No time to think on that now. I need to hurry up and meet up with Chance.' Jake started to head north. With the new weapon he won in the fight, he felt more comfortable and at home with a ranged weapon.

* * *

"I've been here for one whole day and still no sign of the Commander and Felina anywhere." Steele sulked as he walks up a hill and just exiting the woods. His eyes glimmer with joy when he spotted a town just up ahead. "A town! I'm saved!" The lean man with orange hair and a cotton shirt in leather skin pants made his way to the town. He carried a staff and was pleased to finally be out of the God forsaken woods.

On his first step in the town, he was surprised to see so many of the strange creatures he had been turn into. "This town has so many inhabitants. How am I supposed to find the Lt. and the Commander in this mess?"

"Did you just say you were looking for the Commander?" Steele turned around to a lean built woman. She had long black hair, tied back to make a pony tail, and carried two daggers by her side. He eyed her for a moment and realized he just came into contact with Felina.

"Kat's Alive! I'm so glad to find someone!" Steele hugged his Enforcer companion. Felina was growing angry but let it slid since she too was getting worried.

"Okay that's enough!" Felina pushed Steele off herself. "How long have you been in the woods? I just got here about half an hour ago." Felina heard all the trials and monsters Steele fought just to get here alive. Seeing how tired he was, Felina needed to take him to the town Inn.

"Come with me. I'll take you to a place where we can rest. I was just heading there myself after I got this leather armor from the shop."

"Someone is getting used to this weird world." Steele chuckled softly. Felina led him to a nice looking building. Inside, Steele offered to pay for their lodging and dinner. Both ate their fill of almost mashed potatoes with peas on the side and a large chicken leg. They were given loaf of bread to share and some wine.

"This place feels so real. For a video game, I mean." Steele said after finishing his fill. He then took a sip of the wine he was growing to like.

"Yeah," Felina looked out the window of the small dining area of the Inn. "I just hope Uncle is okay. He's probably mad and confused. I wish there was a way to contact him."

[If you wish to contact other players, why not try the PM System?]

"Huh?" Both looked around for the voice that came from completely nowhere.

"PM System…? Um…Commander Feral, can you hear me?" Steele asked. Felina looked at him like he was crazy for speaking out loud and knew that just speaking to the air would be meaningless. She was surprised when she heard her uncle's voice.

"_Steele…is that you? Where are you?"_

"Uncle! I'm glad to know you're okay?" Felina called out as well with joy. She and Steele briefed their commander on what they experienced and heard the same tale from Feral. It seemed they are on the right track on the case of the missing children. Only thing was, they are missing also.

"_I'll head over to the town you two are in. I figured out how to use most of the systems view commands through the Primer. I would suggest reading and memorizing it while you wait."_

"Sir," Both said. Steele got up and told Felina that he was going to take a short rest. Felina understood and she informed that she would investigate the town in the mean time. She hoped to find some clues on to who brought them here and why they brought them here.

'This will be a very lengthy case in the strangest way possible.' Felina thought

* * *

**The adventure is underway! Let's work on leveling up until your Second Log in.**


	3. Second Log in

Second Log in – Unlikely Allies

"Just look at how he fights."

"I don't know. How can we be sure he's not an AI?"

"You mustn't doubt my observations. I know he's a captive player just like us. We must recruit him and if he doesn't, then I guess we'll have to lower his level just a bit to force him."

"But you said there were two players. Where is the other one?"

"That's where you come in. Go search for the other in the west side of the Everwoods. Confront him and offer him to join as well."

"You got it, my lord."

* * *

The lean tom fired a barrage of arrows toward the flock of killer bees. Those oversized wasps returned fire by shooting poison darts from their stingers and tried to sting Jake with an up close jab. Jake avoided the volley and dodged the stingers as he jumped out of the way. The sudden leap made the wasps confused and lost their focus on Jake. The lean tom found this to be the best opportunity to finish them off with one single blow. He pulled out an arrow and a blue flow of energy started to gather at the tip. All the wasps found him and started to swarm towards him. Jake smirked and released his arrow; causing the attack to pierce through them and taking damage as it penetrated them. Several bees faded away while some still hung in there. Though the insects were low in HP, they made a quick dash towards Jake yet again. The lean tom easily vanquished them with one arrow each before they could get any closer.

"That was easier than the last group of bees I fought." Jake praised himself for fending off eight Killer Bees this time. Ever since he learned he was in the video game, he decided to take advantage of the situation. Jake opened up his states window and saw that he was in level six now. He was amazed that he grew two levels in one sitting of a fight. When he looked up the bestiary on the Killer Bees, he noticed that these bugs gave up 105 EXP points and that the stingers could be used to make daggers and tips for arrows. "This game is starting to feel a little more comfortable. Now that I'm done here, I guess I should start heading north."

"Where do you think you're going, young warrior?" A large muscled man with a dark cape stepped out of the foliage and approached Jake with an impressed grin on his face. "Your skills are impressive. I'm positive that you're not an AI from this game."

'Man, this guy is weird.' Jake cocked his head a bit when the guy started to give him a once over look. Jake felt that this other person had to be another player and was also a captive otherwise he wouldn't have approached him. Yet, the man gave Jake a familiar presence by just how he looked. The stare said he was ruthless; his arms said he would crush; his large body said he would trample anything in his wake. He may have looked like a big muscled idiot, but the way he spoke to him showed how intelligent he really was.

"Yes, you are exactly what I need for my campaign. I have an offer you can't refuse."

"What would that be?" Jake stepped back and held on to the arc close. If the guy tried to do anything funny, he would be ready to fight back. He chuckled at the behavior Jake took and stood there calm as he was when he approached him.

"You have a gutsy attitude; I like that. You see, I'm going around and finding well performing players that have been captured to rebel on the ones that have taken us here. The way I was captured would make mockery of my infamous reputation. But first, what is your name and don't give me your User name."

The stare he was just given now made him positive on who was confronting him. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face as he gapped in horror of finding Dark Kat here of all places. The programming of the game made them look completely different and that wasn't a good thing, but Dark Kat was waiting impatiently for his answer. With a snarling and icy glare, Jake spoke out.

"My name…is Jacob Clawson."

The large man grinned and placed a large resolute hand on Jake's shoulders. With more surprise, he didn't think he would go around saying his real identity. "You will refer to me as Dark Kat. I see you figured it out before I got the chance to say it. But I warn you know, if you try to escape or fight me, I will personally hunt you down until you reach level one again. So, do you accept my offer Jacob Clawson?"

"I do accept." 'What other choice did I have? My only other choice was to die constantly by this mad kat's paws.' Deeply inside Jake was mad at himself for accepting his offer, but Dark Kat had a valid point. He was planning to form an army of captured players to fight off whoever brought them here and to find a way out of here. Now that he was a part of Dark Kat's party, he learned that other omegas were captured as well yet he doesn't know where they are. So far, Dark Kat and his party of one other haven't found players that were doing any good and are still stuck around level 5 through 13. Jake didn't think that Dark Kat would actually be playing the game, but if he was going to build an army, they had to start somewhere to make his plans come to fruition.

* * *

Feral yelled as he impaled the goblin with his sharp javelin. It was light weight and flowed with his movements. The army of incoming goblins was starting to become a problem for him and figured that he should lure out smaller numbers as they chased him. His plan worked perfectly and their numbers were dwindling by the minute. To his dismay, more goblins kept appearing and the fight was becoming unbearable. Ten of those green creatures with heavy stone like fists and a gapping O like mouth with sharp teeth just bellow its beady eyes with another set of teeth just opposite of it. They surround Feral and made a horrid sound that could drive anyone to loose their mind. Three goblins charged at him but then something flashed before his eyes. Before him stood a man, no shorter than him, with his blade out and vanquished the monsters attacking him.

"Did you really think you could take on this many on your own?"

"I wasn't planning to, but their numbers keep increasing no matter how many I kill."

"Humph, then I guess you have a knack of finding trouble, huh Commander?" Feral eyed the man with shock as to that he figured out who he was. Closer inspection of the man's body and how he talked gave him his answer. The one who is aiding him is the hotshot he fired along with his friend. For now, he cast that aside and focused on the trouble at hand. Both swiftly vanquished the horde only to come across another horde of ten. Chance dashed at his opponents and landed several successful strikes. Feral jumped to the sky and drilled the ground with his spear causing a pulse to drive itself to the earth and rebound back with the rubble of jagged stalagmites to pierce through the fiends. The fight seemed to become endless as even more numbers approached them.

"What is with these things?" Chance said as he cut down several goblins with one swipe.

"These creatures keep coming as if they are being ordered to attack!" Feral swiftly stepped back as goblin tried to pound him with its fists. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"This just may be a wild guess but, do you think these monsters would be under the order of a leading master?"

"Like a Boss, of course!" Chance smirked and continued to pile up his toll of kills. For some strange reason, they haven't leveled up or gained any loot from vanquishing these monsters and what the Commander just said must have been the reason why. "Hey Feral, you just may be on to something. All we've been doing is fighting these things relentlessly. If we could draw out the Boss and kill it, we can end this struggle and get the EXP we so deserve."

"Draw out the Boss; how would we do that?" His question was answered when a larger green goblin with spiked horns and shaper edged black eyes with spikes on its stone fists other than smoothed. The other smaller goblins surrounded the larger one to protect it from the two warriors. Feral made the first move. Several goblins charged at him and were quickly bore into with a single jab. Chance dashed his way through while swinging wildly at the goblins in front of him. Four goblins remained along with the Boss. Both were relieved when no other goblins were spawning from the surrounding directions.

The Goblin King seemed to look like it was performing some kind of dance and a wave of energy enhanced the remaining four lesser goblins. Chance wasn't ready for the blow that hit him in his gut the instant the monster punched him. Feral eyes widened at how fast the creatures moved now. This fight has gotten even dangerous and Feral had to prepare for the coming attacks. He blocked several pounds and punches but that was the strange part. It seemed that not only did their speed increased, but also their strength. 'That King must be weak if it is relying on its subjects.' Feral had saw an opening and made for it. The King was quick but not fast enough to avoid the lance. It screeched and the goblins were now all on Feral. All he could do now was block; the on coming pounding will eventually break through and he won't hold out much longer. Chance quickly dispatched the remaining lesser goblins and handed a strange shaped bottle to Feral.

"Drink it and you'll get healed just enough to help me." Feral took the bottle and drank it to have a sour, yet poignant, taste. To his amazement, some of his wounds were healed and he could stand with less pain from the bruises. He gave Chance an approving nod and took his stand to fight the Goblin King. The king was fast and strong. The spiked fists it had were a real pain and were the only thing that kept them at bay. Feral had the advantage of landing hits with his javelin but the king would evade swiftly. It seemed that the king wasn't smart. Occasionally it would bump into a tree and attack it thinking it was an enemy. That gave Feral an idea. He quickly and easily explained his plan to the former Enforcer; liking the plan, he executed his part and was under way. He attacked the king and took all of its attention towards him. Just like Feral suspected, the king evaded and tried to land several punches. He stood behind the king and waited until it got closer and with one quick strike, the Goblin King was impaled. Chance finished the job by slicing the goblin horizontally; leaving it defaced and mutilated. When the Goblin King disappeared and an egg was the only thing that took its place.

"Huh? What is this?" Chance picked up the egg and scanned the thing in his hands. Feral didn't seem to care for what the egg was for and was just glad that the crisis was over.

[Congratulations! You defeated Goblin King! You earned 1500 EXP and 2000 Gold! You have obtained a Goblin Egg!]

"Wait…this thing will hatch into a Goblin?"

[More info has been added into the Primer.]

Chance just sighed and made the primer appear before them. Even though they had to take care of an egg, he liked the idea of having a creature he could command. The owner of the egg was the only one that could hatch it, but since there were two of them, who was the owner. 'I know!' "View Status!" The window appeared and saw that his level has increased to 11. He was glad and felt even stronger. He even learned a new move and felt more excited. Now it was time to check if he was the owner of the egg and saw that there was nothing on it. He turned to Feral and he rolled his eyes. Feral did the same by calling up his status and saw that his level has reached 10. His eyes widened when the status said he was the owner of the Goblin Egg.

"Damn! You're so lucky."

"I don't want it." Feral huffed, starting to walk away. Chance cut in front of him and placed the egg in front of the Commander's face. Now Feral was agitated and was thinking about knocking this guy out regardless that he helped him. "Why do you care so much for this egg? If you want it so badly, you can have it!"

[Feral handed Chance the Goblin Egg!]

"Okay, I can't wait for this Spirit assistant to leave me alone." Feral groaned and continued to walk along the path.

He gazed at Feral and then to the egg in his hands. Chance smiled widely knowing he's going to have a monster of his own. He wondered when it would hatch and, more importantly, how he can hatch it. Since this was a game, he went back to read more on the Primer of hatching Eggs. Chance didn't like the conditions, but he was willing to try. The only way to make an egg hatch was to place a drop of his blood on the egg when it starts to move and shake.

"When it hatches, I'm giving it a name." Feral rolled his eyes as Chance continued to explain what he would do. He didn't know why he was letting the ex-Enforcer join him as he headed to the town Felina and Steele mentioned. He had gained enough levels to fight on his own but he was not going to mess this up if they end up in another attack from a horde of monsters. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Humph! You act more of a kitten than the Enforcer I once called a Lieutenant." Feral said coldheartedly. Even though Chance didn't look like a tabby anymore, he still retained the body build and attitude.

"You're as stiff as ever. By the way, what are you doing in this mix up anyways?"

"That's an answer we all want to know." Both Chance and Feral pivot their heads to the approaching person up ahead in the road. He wore a long black silk coat with chainmail just underneath it. His pants were also black and silky with armor knee caps and shoes. He had his hands behind his back when he stopped just a few feet from them. The man had a sinister look, but he finally showed his hands in a notion that he was just trying to talk. Chance saw some strange markings on the gauntlets he wore and new that this guy had to be strong.

"My name is of no important, but if you must know, I'm known as Hard Drive." Feral stared at the man and saw that he did look a lot like the techno menace that plagued his city. "Don't worry, I know who you are Commander, but I'm not so sure it was you he mentioned to look for." Hard Drive turned his attention to Chance and just took the acceptance that it had to be him.

"What do you want with me?" Chance glared at the villain and held on to his blade in one hand. Hard Drive could only chuckle and noticed that Feral was taking the same stance.

"My, I only came to have a friendly proposal offered to you, but I see you won't have the patience to listen. Well then," Hard Drive spread his arms a bit and his gauntlets started to spark around his hands with electricity. "I'll just have to make you listen!"

"You're on!"

"Chance, wait," Feral pulled Chance back a bit. "Hard Drive can use electricity here, yet he doesn't have his surge coat. Is that magic?" Chance looked back at his enemy and then back to Feral.

"I don't think so. He had markings on his gauntlets so it has to be alchemy." Chance looked at his blade and grimaced at what that creep could do to it; even to Feral's javelin. "We have no other option, we either listen or…"

"I'm tired of waiting!" Hard Drive placed his hands on the ground, sparking with electricity and energy, to capture the two in what seemed to be like a cage made from the earth. "I used the fragments of minerals in the field to make these bars so now you'll have to listen." He cleared his throat and started to pace back and forth in front of the two. "Dark Kat wants to make an army of captive players to get back at the ones that have captured us. He has searched through many players and none are acceptable for him. Not until he found you and that smaller one. I don't know what he would think when I tell him that I found the Commander and is just as good of a fighter here than in reality."

"Wait, you said Dark Kat. Was he captured too?" Feral asked with dismay on his face. The case he was in had eliminated that Omega from the list of possible suspects. But what really troubled him was that Dark Kat was captured so easily even when his Enforcers and the SWAT Kats had failed many times to successfully keep him incarcerated. Whoever was behind this was smart, cunning, and had all the credentials to know who they are from the start.

"You bet your ass he is. Dark Kat told me he successfully got the smaller of the two to join him. I got to say, that one was smart to accept from the start. Dark Kat would have killed him until he reached level one. Still, that would have been a strain on his plans." Hard Drive leaned on a nearby tree and just eased up. "So, why not just join us too? Commander, I'm sure you're here to find out about the disappearances and us joining together, which I find rather annoying, would make escaping easier and you can finally find the one responsible for this."

"Nonsense, I will never join forces with that disturbed creature! I would rather find out who captured us in my own terms!"

"Well, aren't we cranky today?" Hard Drive turned his attention back to Chance. Chance just glared at him and had a look of worry in his eyes. "What about you? Are you willing to help Dark Kat?"

"Before I answer that, the one who joined him, did he happen to be Jake?" Chance asked with a feeling of trepidation. The techno wiz smirked and liked that he knew who the new comer was.

"Why, yes, he is."

Chance turned to Feral and saw that he was eying him rather hard. It's as if Feral knew what his answer was. He gritted his teeth, fisted his hands, and closed his eyes shut in the painful choice he had to make. Hard Drive just waited for his answer. This was just too much for Chance to accept.

"No. I won't do it." Chance said with a husky voice. "I won't join you."

Hard Drive frowned and glared down at Chance. "Well, if that's what you want. Either way, it didn't matter. There are still others out there. I'll see you two around when we cross paths again." He started to walk away and stopped remembering that they are still trapped. But before he released them, "By the way, since your buddy is with us, all communications with him are cut off. Only team members can contact players within their team. Enjoy!" Hard Drive laughed menacingly and disappeared deeper into the woods. The cage started to spark and the bars began to lower back into the earth.

Chance fell to his knees and dug his fingers into the dirt. Learning that he can't speak with Jake again made him angry and wishing that he could change his mind. But that chance won't happen and he needed to find a way to get Jake out of the mess he's in, but how? Now that Jake was gone by communications, what is he going to do? Where would he go now?

"Stand up you fool!" Feral's voice brought him back from the consternation. As much as Feral might regret this, he had to help him now. He watched Chance stand up again, but he wasn't looking at Feral at all. "If you want, you can join us until we find a way to free Jake from Dark Kat's team. I don't know what he will do with Jake, but I know what that fiend is capable of."

'Trust me, I do to.'

* * *

"Yes, you fit the armor well." Dark Kat mussed as Jake stepped out with his new armor. He wore a black tonic with steel chainmail underneath, light iron gauntlets for more movement for his fingers, black loose cotton pants, and dark iron shoes. His belt was black and held a small dagger and the mask matched the color scheme. It hid halve of his face and it felt like he was wearing his SWAT Kat mask again only this time he wasn't a SWAT Kat.

"From now on, you will be following my orders. I expect great things from you Jacob Clawson." Dark Kat handed Jake a new and stronger arc. It was as long as his height and shaded bright sapphire with a white stripe going through the center. "I forged this weapon with my own skills. I will entrust you with such a powerful longbow."

"Thank you, my lord."

* * *

**Review Please! ^-^**


	4. Third Log in

Third Log in – Building a Party

The door to the Inn was flung open and yelled out the name of the one he was looking for. Steele was very confused that his name was yelled out from the start and stared at the warrior heading his way. Steele began to sweat; bumped into the bar he was drinking at and was confronted by the warrior.

"Please, I didn't mean to do it! Spare my life!"

"You took something from me and I want it back! Or do you wish to drop a level right now?" Steele couldn't help but cry, but truthfully…

"Here, I'll give back what I stole and more. I'll give you this mark. It's worth two thirds of gold."

"A mark? What mark?"

"This mark," The warrior turned around and was surrounded by three others. Turning his attention back on Steele, he noted that he had his staff out and ready for what is about.

"A trap. You must be here for my head. You're bounty hunters, correct?"

"Just for today." Felina answered pulling out her daggers. She took a boxing pose, preparing for what will unfold.

"So, steeling from me was only to lure me to my death." The warrior chuckled and pulled out a rapier in one hand and a broad ax in the other. "Big mistake. You're not the only ones who have been after me today. What makes you so sure you can best me?"

"We don't." Chance smirked, crossing his arms and leaning on a support beam. "We've been lucky making it this far. Losing now would only be progression. But actually winning, luck had nothing to do with it."

"Enough of this chatters." Feral lunged without warning and connecting his spear with the warrior's shoulder making him wince with pain. The warrior used his free arm to try to chop Feral, but he was too fast.

"I got this!" Steele began to cast his spell, but the warrior swung his ax wildly. The warrior's swings made it difficult for Steele to concentrate.

Daggers penetrated the warrior's back with great force. Felina didn't react fast enough for the elbow slamming into her, knocking her off and hitting the floor with a thud. The warrior winced picking up his rapier to stab her in the heart, but Chance intercepted with his blade.

"Ice Needles!" A chill filled the room as moisture in the air began to condense above Steele, forming one foot needles and then launched at the warrior. Some stuck and some broke on contact, but the damage did as they expected.

"Great work Steele."

"Thanks Commander." Steele felt more useful here in this world than he did as an Enforcer in the real world.

"Alright. Felina, hand me the rope and than we can take this guy down to the local authorities." Feral commanded. The rope was handed to him quickly and soon tied the warrior.

Like they expected, he would resist and try to break free, but Felina would always knock the side of his head to shut him up. The citizens of the small city watched in awe as they took the captured criminal, praising them for their valor and courage. Chance couldn't help but gloat and wink at the beautiful women, getting squeals in return. Guys drooled over Felina, but she just gave them a look to back off though some did, others wanted to just gawk.

An old man, wearing armor and still looking young for his age, approached them with two other armored soldiers. "We thank you for helping us apprehend this villain. The Delta Knights are in your debt." The old man placed his right hand in the form of a fist on his chest and bowed. "Take the prisoner to his new home!"

"Yes Captain,"

"There is no need to owe us. We only did what was right." Feral said. Though in his mind he was seeing them as the enemy after what they called themselves.

"Oh, is that so good warrior." Captain looked over the small band of heroes and laughed wholeheartedly. "You are a small group. I'm impressed that you were able to take your target without dying."

"Well, we did almost lose Felina." Steele said rubbing the back of his neck. Felina scoffed and turned the other way but then remembered that she needed to thank Chance for saving her later.

"Your mage doesn't seem to know any healing spells. Your next member should be a support ally. A priest would do nicely. Why not take one of the priests here in the village?"

"We wouldn't want to endanger a new ally without the person's consent. We'll see what we do. Thanks for the helpful advice." Feral did the same salute he was given by the knight and was awarded a friendly smile.

[At the town Inn of Hamlet]

"We've heard the news of what you four did. This small town is proud to house four strong travelers."

"Yeah. That guy didn't even see us coming." Chance winked at the bar girl, getting a giggle from her. Feral found it strange that these people can simulate emotions just like any other living kat from their world. Strange as it was it didn't matter that much.

"The plan only worked because you followed my orders for once." Feral said gruffly. Chance gave him a glare but he understood why he would say something.

"Uncle, that was a long time ago and you need to let that go."

"I'll never let it go Felina! He and his hot shot friend damaged the new Enforcer building. Those two will continue to work at that salvage yard until I get every cent to pay off for their carelessness."

"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't interfere on bringing in Dark Kat! It was our bust!"

"I specifically ordered you to leave the arrest to me!"

"You just wanted the glory of busting Dark Kat yourself!"

"I would never put myself before the safety of the citizens!"

"Fighting about it won't do us any good here!" Felina yelled over both of the others. "You two may not like each other, but we're in this together no matter what. We need to stick together and see this to the end; human or kat." Both Feral and Chance gave each other a look before turning away from the angry stare.

"It's not fair." Feral turned to Steele, who was staring at his mug with a serious expression. "It's just not fair. Making them work at the salvage yard until they pay off the damages, that's against their rights. It's a cruel punishment. You out of all kats should now that Commander."

"But they-"

"They nothing – you know they can't pay off the damages with the minimum wage they get. It takes years, even after they get too old to work to pay off such an expensive debt. I may not have liked them, but they didn't deserve to be fired because of it."

Chance didn't believe that one of the most annoying suck ups he had ever seen had enough respect to actually stand up for him. Steele may not have the skills to be an Enforcer Commander, but he just may be starting to finally understand such an important role.

"HELP! THE TOWN IS BEING INVADED!"

The four of them didn't hesitate to get up and head out to see who was invading. What they saw wasn't who but more of a what. Walking skeletons set ablaze with dark iron shields and helms with a rusty iron blade. It was strange that the monsters didn't attack anyone. They're just wondering aimlessly as if they have no idea where they are and what they need to do.

"Help!" A young lady in blue robes and with a black belt around her waist, and a large red ribbon tying her long blond hair back ran away from a group of those same skeletons. Chance and Feral didn't think twice and slew the monsters quickly.

"You're safe now." Steele told the young lady breathing for air.

"I wasn't running away from them! They were following me! I only needed help to round up my skeletons. I'm still having trouble keeping them in check. I guess I should only call a small group."

"Wait, these monsters are yours?" Chance said confused. When one of them saw her it came by her side and stood there as if waiting for orders.

"Yes. I'm a Necromancer. I call forth the dead and they fight with my command. My name is…Crystal." She smiled and held out her hand to have it shaken. The way she acted, they all came to the same conclusion. She was a captive user.

"I'm Chance." He said taking her hand firmly shaking it. "This is Felina, Steele, and Ulysses." There was a slight surprised expression her face, but she quickly regained her focus when she remembered she had to get her monsters back.

"Come, we must find my other skeletons."

"Just break your hold on them." A voice came from behind making them turn to the dark clothed person. Feral and Chance eyed him as if they had seen that style of clothing before.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Crystal groaned and lifted her staff with an azure stone on the top of it. She muttered a few words and the skeleton before them fell to the ground and was fused with the earth.

"Let's go Crystal. He's waiting for us."

"Coming. It was nice meeting you all." She ran beside the man and walked in unison when she arrived by him.

"Wait!" Chance stepped forward making them stop. There was a silence in the air and the longer Chance stared at the man, he came to terms on which he might be. But, he didn't get a familiar feeling coming from the angry stare that man was giving him. "Never mind."

"Don't hesitate. Let doubt cloud your eyes and you'll lose the truth. Still your mind; move on instinct." He said before turning away and continued onward.

[The next day]

"I hope you all enjoyed your stay. You're all welcome here again. Safe traveling."

"Where's Chance?" Felina asked looking around and finding their missing one player.

"My guess he left earlier this morning." Steele answered with a shrug. "After what that other guy said, he's been really distant. Something is wrong and I think we need to check on him."

"Jake."

"Excuse me sir?"

"That man in the dark clothing. He was Jake Clawson." Feral said, shock in the other two's eyes. "He had joined Dark Kat's group just so he could stay safe and from being killed repeatedly."

"That's horrible." Felina gritted her teeth and fisted her hands. She heard that Dark Kat was here with them from when they reunited, but she wasn't informed of Jake choosing the other side just so he could stay safe from that villain's deadly paws.

"We need to find Chance. What if he goes and tries to follow Jake? He's useless by himself."

"You're right Steele." Feral sighed at the thought of that hot-shot actually trying to find Jake.

* * *

'Jake…was that really you?' Chance walked the town aimlessly, head hung and looking toward the cobble stoned pathways. 'Why didn't you say anything? Was Dark Kat watching you? The advice you gave me, was it a hint to tell me who you are?'

"You should watch where you're going." Chance looked up to a shop that he didn't bother noticed he was about to crash into. The man on the other side eyed him curiously. He noticed that this stout man wore a tonic adorned with gems of amethyst, garnets, emeralds, and sapphires. A small knife in a hilt attached to the belt and a strange glasses holding colored liquid.

"You seem to be lost in your thoughts. Anyways, that is none of my concern; would I interest you in some potions?"

"Do you… Do you have anything to help me stay focused?" The man on the other end smiled widely. 'Did I say something stupid?'

"You want the Hero's Drink. A veil of this and you will be focused and all your states will be doubled. It's the spell Aura but since it's chemically designed, it will last only a short while."

"Oh… How much will it cost?"

"10,000 Gold."

Chance staggered back a bit at the cost of such an expensive item. By himself, he only had around 2,100 gold. "Then I'll just…be on my way."

"Why would you ask for an item and not buy it?" The man asked looking sad at Chance. "I've got my own troubles and I got a job as a seller of items, but my true role is a Chemist. I brew up potions, antidotes, and the like to help travelers in their need or sell them with a permit I can obtain. You know, why don't I travel with you?"

"You travel with me?" Chance was surprised by the sudden question. The smile came back on his face and walked over to him on the other side. "I don't know, we were trying to find a priest for our group for healing magic."

"A Priest?" That means you need to go back to Ridorhana or get lucky enough to find a traveling Priest. Priests don't travel alone since it's dangerous and only have little attacking commands. I, however, can fend of enemies with this." The man pulled out what seemed to be a musket; wood body and iron pipe for the barrel.

"You're a Chemist and a Marksman?"

"No, Chemists are allowed to equip rifles and daggers. I chose the rifle since it felt much better. Riffles may have a low attack power, but they ignore the enemy's defense states."

"That's amazing!" Chance cheered at the lucky chance he got in finding not only a healer, but a Chemist who can make them healing items and eventually sell them to earn even more gold. "I would like for you to join, but you're going to have to be accepted by one more person. He's a little more hot tempered than I am."

"That would be perfectly acceptable."

"Before I forget to ask, what's your name?"

"The name is Leiter Greenbox." Chance was taken aback that he found one of Megakat's scientists in the game. He had always heard his inventions somehow go wrong and he experienced them first handed with the time Rex Shard had turned into a crystal goliath and when he and Zed tried to rule the world.

"Is something the matter friend?" Leiter had felt that something was wrong and that the person before him knew about him. "You don't happen to be a captive too by any chance."

Chance nodded his head, "Yeah I am. We need to find my other partners. Let's hope when they learn who you are they don't shun you."

"Why would that be a problem?"

"Because they are captive players too and you know them just as well as they know you. You and I had never met, so my name is Chance Furlong."

"Chance Furlong…" Leiter sounded the name slowly and pondered for a while, knowing he had heard that name somewhere. "You're right, we have never met but your name does sound familiar. Anyways, why don't we search for your companions?"

* * *

"Still no sign of that guy anywhere." Steele stood in the middle of the stoned streets, scratching his head as to where Chance could have gone. He had checked the armory and the weapons shops and Chance was still nowhere to be found. Feral and Felina had taken posts near the exists just in case if that troublesome partner of theirs did decide to leave town to look for Jake but that was starting to sound like a premonition too late.

"No, the lady at the Inn said he left a short while after we got down." Steele made a jog to the other end of the street, looking to and fro for the warrior. He called out his name and nobody seemed to mind what Steele was doing. In his mind, the guards should have at least been wondering what he was up to, but they just stood there protecting a gate which led to nowhere in particular.

"What's with this world? I'm here with a problem and they don't bother to see what my problem is." Steele then remembered the short lesson he listened to from Chance. He knew he was trapped within a game but also had to learn about the AI; alternate Intelligence that roam this world and are programmed to do one specific objective. He assumed those guards were posted there by the game master and are only to stay there.

Steele found a wondering guard and talked to him, but when he asked him about Chance he was instead told about a rumor of a group of mysterious men in black traveling the land. Again, Steele was faced with another AI and this one must have been programmed to only say such things.

"This is bad." Steele looked around and noticed that the group of citizens in this town were the same, which isn't a big deal, but what they did made him get shivers up his spine. He saw a familiar girl running away from her male friend as they were playing tag since the day he got here. A group of women standing by a shop that sold accessories, chatting hushed conversations and a drunk sitting on the ground by the entrance of a bar.

"These people aren't real. Yet when we do something in this world, they converse with us as if we triggered some kind of event." Steele said to himself, thinking that it was safe to think out loud. "If that's the case, in order to get information about who is behind our capture and finding the missing children, we should play along with the rules of this game."

"Well if it isn't the mage of our group." Steele turned to find Chance heading his way followed by a man. "I want you to meet our group's skilled mage, Steele."

"You mean Commander Lieutenant Steele!"

"Yeah, the very same, and who might you be?"

"I'm Leiter Greenbox." Steele was shocked by that small knowledge. He turned to Chance and was told that he was surprised also when he heard the name. "So, you were captured as well by whoever is behind this world. Chance, I think I'm beginning to understand how this world will function in our favor."

"Really? How?"

"You said that the AIs in this world are only designed to do one objective, yet yesterday an AI talked to us about what we did in Ridorhana. If that's the case, shouldn't she be a captive player too?"

"Yeah, but we know she's an AI so it's impossible for her to be a captive player. She greets us the same way as if she had never met us and tells us good-bye like we were long time visitors." Chance was starting to get a picture of what Steele was getting at. "You must be thinking that we triggered a scene out of our actions in this world. Her programming was changed to fit our situation."

"Exactly."

"I'm a little lost as to what you two are talking about but if it's about AIs and programming of the like, I can be of assistance." Leiter said. Chance and Steele had forgotten he was a scientist for a while. "This information should be shared amongst your other companions. Let's find them."

"Well just use the privet messaging system to contact them and meet up in the west gate. I have something to do in that direction anyways."

"You're going to follow Jake, right?"

"How did…?" Chance was surprised and puzzled that Steele knew what he was up to.

"The Commander told us. You're not going alone. We're in this together and if you want to look for Jake, than count us in."

"The Commander is here too! This is a huge mess." Leiter intruded. "Let me guess, is the fourth member the niece of our dear Commander?" Both nodded their heads and he sighed. "I really do hope I get in your group."

[Elsewhere…]

"Awaken spirits of the fallen!" Crystal demanded as she raised her staff toward the sky. Three of the same skeletons rose from the earth and slowly took their place. "Attack!" They did as they were told, slashing and fending off rock like centipedes.

Behind her, a man fired arrows at the approaching flock of avions; feather less birds squawking at them to have their next meal. They were both surrounded in both ends and nowhere to run. The valley's pathway had incased them by two walls of hungry monsters and if they died here, they would return to Hamlet at rebirth point with one less level.

"What do we do know? If I keep summoning my skeletons, I'll run out of mana."

"I know."

The monsters slowly got closer and he knew they were done for. Then he remembered the new command. He pulled out and arrow and fired it toward the sky. "Seraphic Thunder!" A blast of lighting landed on the surrounding areas hitting every target. The creatures blackened and disappeared, dropping behind several spoils.

"Thanks for the quick thinking."

"It was nothing."

"You know, I'm glad you found me. I was so scared when I first came here and you helped me learn how to adjust to this world. It's nice to know I have friend on the inside."

"Don't mention it. It was a good idea to have changed your name to Crystal. Dark Kat would have kept you to himself and Feral and the others would have tried to keep you safe."

"I know you joined Dark Kat so you don't have to die repeatedly, but I'm sure you can find a way to escape his grasp."

"We have a job to do. Worrying about escaping now is pointless. Let's get stronger and hopefully we can beat Dark Kat together Callie."

"So we gain his full trust and then cause mutiny. I like that plan. Who would have thought a mechanic like you could be so devilish at times Jake." Callie smiled wickedly.

"You have no idea." Jake kept on going making Callie run up to his side. The rest through the valley was peaceful and faced no more monsters along the way. This gave Jake some time to think, plan on how he would get stronger since the monsters become more difficult throughout their progression in the game. They made their way out sooner than he expected and was entering the still rocky area of the plains.

"Look, you can see the ruins up ahead." Callie pointed as she looked toward the distance. "Just a short walk through this path, and we'll be in the open fields. Then Hard Drive won't have to wait any longer for us." She noticed that Jake wasn't paying much attention to her. "You're worried about Chance, huh? Don't worry; you two will be together in no time."

"I was hoping for him to recognize me but he backed down. He thought I was someone else."

"I'm sure he knows it was you. He just didn't want to give you out." Callie comforted Jake. He sighed and continued onward with Callie by his side.

The fields proved to be a challenge with monsters roaming the entire place. Wolfs lunged at them, goblins pounded and ambushed, and some strange slug like monster tried to leech them to death. Eventually, the ruins were just a few steps away and they could finally take a short break. As expected, Hard Drive was there, leaning on the still closed gate.

"It's about time you guys showed up. Taking a leisure stroll with Crystal? Any longer and Dark Kat would have gone to look for us."

"We got a little sidetracked on the way." Jake explained. "We sort of bumped into Feral and his group. You would never believe that Steele and Felina are with him."

"So the lieutenants are here to play as well." Hard Drive chuckled unusually. It was a first for Jake to hear a villain laugh normal for a change. But this place didn't matter if they were bad guys. It's better to have an ally you could trust, whether you wanted to or not. "Well, let's keep going. I know you two must be tired, but we got work to do and Dark Kat expects it done."

"Right. Get the relic inside and hand it over to Dark Kat." Crystal reminded of their task to their party leader Hard Drive.

"Unfortunately."

[Near Hamlet]

"You mean to say this man here is Greenbox!" Feral couldn't believe that he too was captured. So far, he had encountered players from their world who he had known except for Crystal. If the reports back at HQ said of missing teenagers, than why hadn't they encountered a youth from their city?

"Yeah. The guy is a Chemist so he could make the healing items for us whenever we need it." Chance explained and trying to help Lieter get in their party.

"In battle, my ability hoard allows me to use items that I saved up and heal everyone at once. But, that also causes a problem since I have to master how to hoard items." Lieter pulled up his status menu and went to his ability listing. So far, he had Potion and Antidote mastered. Currently he is learning Hi-Potion and there are two others in the list: Ether and Soft.

"Impressive. But I still think a priest would be useful." Feral began to protest.

"Just wait a minute Uncle." Felina butted in. "I'm sure Greenbox will be a great ally. Give him a chance to prove himself and, if not, we can let him go." Chance and Lieter waited for a response from Feral but he still seemed troubled on making a decision.

"Think about it; with Greenbox on our side, not only make healing items for us, we can sell medicines to any players in need of it." Steele added, hoping that would help his commanding leader make a choice.

"Gold is rather difficult to earn. And making our own healing supplements could save us a lot of gold and spend it more on armor and weapons. Alright," Lieter smiled wide at the final decision, "but we begin now and we have another hunt given to us by the Delta Knights." Feral held a folded sheet of paper with the name of their mark and what their hunting.

"A wild tomato?" Steele looked confused. The creature looked nothing like it and was more blob-shaped than round. "We're hunting a monster right? Not a kindergarten drawing of mother's Jell-O dessert."

"I was informed that the monster was of a Flan species."

"Great. So we are fighting dessert."


End file.
